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Insist on your right to know gov’t business

A long time ago, I had the privilege of heading up the efforts of the Tennessee Press Association to “bring a little sunshine to public affairs” in Tennessee.

That was in 1974, and legislative committees, city councils,and county government all seemed to believe they could work better without public scrutiny. That somehow interfered with private huddles where votes were swapped, deals were made, decisions were made and many acts not in the public interest were passed in secret.

We were not alone. No state in the union and no federal law gave any real protection from those in office who sought to operate in secrecy.

In 1974, the committee which I chaired, and our Government Affairs Committee — under the chairmanship of Ralph Millet, my good friend and the editor the Knoxville News Sentinel — were charged with coming up with a law to give the people a chance to know what their officials were up to.

After many meetings and hearings, we came up with what was the first real Sunshine law, not just in Tennessee, but in the nation. The act we proposed was a marvel of simplicity, it read:

“The General Assembly hereby declares that the formation of public policy and decisions of public business and shall not be conducted in secret. All meetings of any governing bodies are declared to be public meetings and open to the public at all times.”

A governing body was defined as one having at least two members and the authority to make decisions or recommend a decision to a public body. Two or more members of such a body could not meet in secret except for a casual meeting where no business was discussed.

Adequate notice of public meetings (an essential element of the legislation) was required.

Resistance was immediate. School boards, city governments, county governments all lined up to challenge the bill. Luckily, we had Lt. Gov. John Wilder and House Speaker Ned McWherter as staunch supporters of the act.

Since the day Gov. Winfield Dunn signed the bill into law, we have had to fight off those who would allow secret meetings and adequate published public notice.

The reluctance of officials has continued to this day. There is no excuse for this. You deserve to know what your elected officials are doing.

What you don’t know will hurt you. School districts may change, zoning laws may affect your property and your taxes may go up. And for the system to work, you must have adequate public notice of such proposals before they are discussed in public.

That is why you and I should have no patience and no tolerance for those who would close meetings, those who would not provide agendas in advance and not give advance notice of meetings or proposals which may affect your person, your property, your taxes, your schools or others matters in which you have an interest.

What you don’t know can hurt you.

The fight goes on. County commissions and their committees, city councils, school boards and various departments, will continue to try to get around the law. Whether they are just afraid to stand up and be counted in public, or have some more dubious motives, I never know. What I do know is that we must fight them at every step of the way. Let the sunshine in. Insist on it.

Your local newspaper is still your best ally in this fight. Insist along with those who report on the government that public business be conducted openly and allow full public discussion.

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Sam D. Kennedy is publisher of the Lawrenceburg Advocate and a former editor and publisher of The Daily Herald.

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